The Scream movie franchise has been a staple for horror enthusiasts for 25 years. With four installments already in the can and another just a few months from hitting theaters, it’s as good a time as any to think about both the legacy of the iconic series and also what its future might hold. Luckily, we can get some insight about that from one of the co-directors of the upcoming fifth movie.
In 1996, the franchise's first film -- written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven -- became a sleeper hit. With its blend of irreverent pop culture references and pitch-perfect scary storytelling, it, in many ways, set a new standard for Millennial horror movies. It’s now been ten years since the fourth film was released. Before the fifth movie was announced last year, that was long enough for fans to wonder if the franchise was done for good. Now that we know that’s not the case, it’s still fair to wonder whether this new film is just a one-off project or the start of a new era.
While there’s nothing set in stone yet, there are some clues that we can draw from. The newest chapter is called Scream, though it’s more of a reboot of the franchise than a remake of the original film -- which could hint at more to come. Then, there’s co-director Tyler Gillett, who told CinemaBlend’s sister site, Total Film, that he can foresee more installments to the franchise:
This new cast of characters is so wonderful. The legacy cast, they’re so wonderful. I think what we discovered, and what [screenwriters] Guy [Busick] and James [Vanderbilt] did, is they found a real reason for the next story to exist. We know that there is more gas in the tank. There are more stories to be told in Woodsboro, and about these characters, for sure.
So it sounds like there could be more films in the works -- or at least, it sounds like the latest movie leaves the door open for them to happen. Like 2011's fourth movie, the fifth brings the surviving original characters Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) together with a new generation of teen characters. It remains to be seen who will survive Ghostface’s latest bloodbath, or how many more films the original core trio will want to be a part of.
But while it’s hard to imagine the series without any of them, it’s also the kind of franchise that has proven it has the ability to transcend generations. As long as there are teenagers who are glued to their phones and an audience that loves being scared as much as it loves pop culture references, there’s a good chance that Ghostface will live on.
Scream hits theaters on January 14, 2022, and you can stream past installments of the franchise on Amazon Prime Video.
